Betty Juanita Rogers

Betty Juanita Rogers, 81, joined her Heavenly Father, Wednesday, March 19, 2014, after a six-month fight against cancer. She was born Dec. 10, 1932, to Rush and Maggie Fletcher Jones in Ozan, Ark. "Baby" to her loving husband Dean, and "Mimi" to her only grandson, she was Juanita to everyone else. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Fayetteville. An only child, she was a favorite of shopkeepers and bus drivers from Washington to Nashville, Ark., and reminded people she was a designated free-throw shooter on her high school basketball team. A graduate of Nashville High, she would attend Southern State College before beginning an executive secretarial career in government and education. While working at Texarkana's Red River Army Depot, she met a Baptist interim preacher at Washington who captured her heart and became her devoted husband of 57 years. Moving to Fort Worth so he could attend seminary, she worked for the GSA and gave birth to their only child on her 24th birthday. Back in Arkansas, she enjoyed a 13-year career as an executive secretary with the Monticello School Administration. Lifelong friends made there enriched and sustained her for all of her days. Fourteen years in Hope to care for her ill father included a final career with the Soil Conservation Service until retirement in 1990 when they moved to Northwest Arkansas to be near to their grandson, Greg. She loved to be on the go and the couple built wonderful memories following the Razorbacks, attending family reunions and making regular trips to their Hot Springs lake condos. They celebrated retirement fully there with pontoon rides, domino games of Mexican Train, card games of Hand and Foot, and potluck evening meals. She was always eager to share her pride in her son's career with the Arkansas Razorbacks and Springdale Chamber of Commerce. She delighted in phone calls with dear friends and in keeping track of real estate transactions that caught her attention. Mimi had the opportunity to see her only grandson grow from backscratches and backyard swings to graduating with honors from the University of Arkansas in 2013, and beginning his career as a writer and designer for video game-based course content at the UA. She was preceded in death by her husband, Delbert Dean, who passed away Oct. 17, 2013. Survivors include son, Bill, with daughter-in-law, Julie, and grandson, Greg, of Springdale. Funeral service will be 1 p.m. Saturday, March 22, 2014, in the chapel at Nelson-Berna Funeral Home in Fayetteville, with Dr. Douglas Falknor officiating. Burial will follow in Bluff Cemetery in Springdale. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 21, 2014, at Nelson-Berna Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 1324, Fayetteville, AR 72702; or the Arkansas Baptist Home for Children, 10 Remington Drive, Little Rock, AR 72204. To place an online tribute, visit www.nelsonberna.com.